Juniors-
Renee Howland (2nd individually at State, 1st team all-city, 2nd
team all-league)
Brittany Cooper (Top 10 at Regional, 2nd team
all-league)
Freshman-
Makaila Cowdin (13th at State, top 10 at Regionals)
The girls competed in 12 total meets this season, they placed 3rd at the Free
State Invitational (16 teams, top finish for a 5A team), 1st at the Bishop Miege
Invitational (12 teams), 2nd in Centennial League (10 teams), 2nd in Regionals
(12 teams), and 1st at State (12 teams).
In the 10 years of bowling at Topeka West the girls team has been to state 6
times. The previous 5 trips resulted in finishing 2nd, 3rd twice, 4th and 7th.
This is the first state championship for Topeka West in bowling.
Way to go, Chargers!!!

Topeka Public Schools Deputy Superintendent of Operations Larry
Robbins was formally introduced as the new Chairman of United Way of Greater
Topeka’s Board of Directors. At UWGT’s annual meeting, Robbins spoke about his
new position on the board. “I welcome this role as chair of a board of truly
committed volunteers,” he said.

Robbins has served as a board member for multiple years and is
motivated to offer his time and talents to UWGT because he has witnessed the
positive impact the agency has had on the community. A love of Topeka- the city
in which Robbins was raised- is another reason he has chosen to play an active
role at UWGT. “We have a good community. But it’s a good community that can be
improved. Community impact is United Way of Greater Topeka’s purpose. Bringing
together people, companies and non-profits to affect positive, sustainable
change in our community--- that’s what we’re all about. Focusing on education,
financial stability and health, United Way is facilitating the work necessary to
have the community that all of us can be proud of.”

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Fourth graders at Quincy Elementary held a mini science fair
recently to showcase what they’ve been learning about energy. Thanks to a grant
provided by Westar Energy, the 4th graders were able to spend six
weeks increasing their knowledge of different forms of energy. They
recently invited their parents and their peers to see what they’ve been working
on and they demonstrated different types of energy in action. “The kids loved
it,” teacher Amy Wilson said. “They had no experience with science fairs before
and they learned a lot.”

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Congratulations to Topeka High teacher Teresa Canty. She was recently named
KSNT’s Teacher of the Month.

The award, sponsored by Capital City Nissan of
Topeka, solicits nominations from the KSNT viewing audience for teachers who are
making significant contributions to their students, schools and
communities.

Canty’s name was selected from the scores of nominations they
receive each month and was added to a list of teachers who are in contention for
Teacher of the Year. Canty received an amazing 13 nominations from students.
Among the comments were the following: “Ms. Canty taught me a lot about myself,
who I’m becoming and want to be” and “she is always there for me when I need
help and she motivates me to never give up on my future.”

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

At the March 5th Topeka Public Schools Board of Education meeting, two of the
district’s seniors were recognized for their stellar performance on the National
Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. Both Topeka West’s Victory Rose and Topeka
High’s Lucas Ryan received Letters of Commendation. About 1.5 million students
take the test each year and only 34,000, or just 2%, receive Commendations from
the program.
Victory plans to attend Washburn University next year and Lucas
has not yet selected a college, but hopes to study on the east coast.
Congratulations, Victory and Lucas, we’re so proud of you!

Monday, March 9, 2015

A great teacher is one who challenges students to
succeed.That best describes Randolph
Elementary 5th grade teacher Tamyra Heim.“She pushes students to meet their maximum
potential.She challenges her students
with differentiated instruction so that all of their needs are met.Tamyra is always coming up with new ideas to
engage her students,” said Tasha Ullom, a co-worker who nominated Tamyra for
the Above & Beyond Award.

Tamyra has been a teacher for eight years, all of them at
Randolph Elementary School.She says her
job is made easier by the students in her class.She especially likes their sense of
humor.“They make me laugh at lot
every day.They are very witty and give
me a lot of hope for our future,” said Heim.

Randolph Principal Karen Williams is well aware that Tamyra
goes above and beyond in her work at school.“One thing we started this year was an after school pick up schedule for
our school,” said Williams.“Tamyra
provided consistency in getting it going and she volunteered every day to do
duty to help us get if off the ground and she trained others to do the
job.”Williams also says students in
Tamyra’s class are trained to excel and she knows they will all do great in
middle school because of her guidance.

The Above and Beyond Award can be given to staff, parents or
a volunteer who are going above and beyond to serve the students and staff of
Topeka Public Schools.To nominate
someone for the award, go to the district website, www.topekapublicschools.net and
click on staff/forms for staff/district program forms/ Above and Beyond.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

The
Topeka Public Schools Board of Education is pleased to announce that, for the
second year in a row, the American School Board Journal has awarded the school
district with the prestigious Magna Award. This award highlights the best
practices of school district leadership. Topeka Public Schools was one of only
five similarly-sized schools in the nation to receive this honor. Topeka Public
Schools earned a First Place Prize for its partnership with Westar Energy that
has resulted in the construction of the Westar Energy Education Station
substation at the Kanza Education and Science Park, job shadowing, scholarship
and internship opportunities for students, the Corporate Bigs program, and
curriculum development, among many other projects. Topeka Public Schools
Superintendent Dr. Julie Ford said, “Westar has been a wonderful industry
partner.They have worked with our
district to integrate STEM skills in our curriculum and have created a learning
tool for our schools and the community.”

Larry
Robbins, TPS Deputy Superintendent of Operations, is also pleased the
partnership is receiving the Magna Award. "We at Topeka Public Schools
recognize the importance of forming business partnerships and greatly
appreciate the value those partnerships bring to our educational mission.This national recognition certainly validates
our approach to enhancing learning opportunities for TPS students through
strategic alliances with business partners,” he said.

Westar
Energy President and CEO Mark Ruelle said: “A few years ago leaders at Topeka
Public Schools and Westar started talking about how we might work together.
What kinds of programs can complement classroom lessons and bring them to life?
The district has shown great leadership and a willingness to innovate. We’ve
accomplished more than I thought possible, and we’re still growing
together.”

Topeka
Public Schools received a Magna First Place Award last year, as well. The Pine
Ridge Prep pre-school program was honored for its efforts to provide a quality
early childhood education to children in the Pine Ridge Manor community. In
2012, the district was awarded a Magna Honorable Mention for the implementation
of its Truancy Prevention Dispatch Program, which resulted in a 43% decrease in
truancy in just two years.

According
to the American School Board Journal website, “The Magna Awards is a national
recognition program co-sponsored by American School Board Journal, the National
School Boards Association, and Sodexo. For the past 20 years, the Magna Awards
panel of independent judges has reviewed programs that showcase school district
leadership, creativity and commitment to student achievement.” The Magna
awardees will be highlighted in an upcoming edition of the American School
Board Journal and online at www.asbj.com/magna, as well as being honored at the
National School Board Association Annual Conference which will take place in
Nashville, Tennessee on March 21.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

The students of Meadows Elementary had an exciting morning recently when Kansas
City Chiefs player Dustin Colquitt visited to help serve breakfast. The NFL
punter was at the school to celebrate National School Breakfast Week while he
helped students make their breakfast selections. After each student had received
breakfast, Colquitt even joined them in their classroom to eat and
chat.
Meadows Principal Nicole Dial is thrilled with the new breakfast
program at her school. This is the first year the
students have been able to eat their morning meal at their desks in the
classroom. The foods are offered in each pod and the students go through a
serving line to select their items before sitting down with their classmates to
eat. Eating in the classroom rather than the cafeteria makes for a smaller,
calmer mealtime. “It’s a peaceful way for them to start their day,” Dial
said.Second grade teacher Konchetta Johnson agrees, crediting the
environment and nutritious meal with reducing discipline issues and helping the
children start their day in a better mood. She also enjoys the
relationship-building that takes place when the students get to enjoy their
breakfast together.The students had great time meeting Dustin Colquitt and
we're so glad he could join them in celebrating National School Breakfast
Week!